THE PAST 100 YEARS

From The Santa Fe New Mexican:

March 5, 1923: “We have had two and a half inches of snow in Santa Fe; three inches over the northwestern part of this state, over northern Arizona and parts of Colorado. This is a good started. We need several feet of snow in the hills,” said Section Director C.E. Linney of the Weather Bureau today.

March 5, 1948: Governor Mabry urged today that both Catholics and Protestants avoid disputes which might “stir up religious misunderstanding” in New Mexico. The controversy over nun teachers in Dixon is a case in point, the executive said in a letter replying to one by the Rev. J. Paul Stevens, Taos Protestant minister, who had criticized a previous gubernatorial statement.

Mabry emphasized that New Mexico has never recognized the right to teach sectarian doctrines in public schools and continued:

“As a Protestant, and a Mason as well, I deplore any effort to stir up religious misunderstanding and to promote bigotry of any sort, whether by Catholics or Protestants. And, fortunately, we have been more or less free of this in New Mexico for the 41 years I have lived here. …”

March 5, 1973: A bill to provide the method for state purchase of the 486,000acre WS Ranch in northeast New Mexico was at the top of the House calendar today.

March 5, 1998: Despite promising to resign his seat on the Santa Fe Board of Education if elected to the City Council, Jimmie Martinez said Wednesday he was in no hurry to do so.

In an interview before Wednesday’s school board meeting, Martinez said there are things he still wants to accomplish for the schools, mentioning strengthening a joint city/schools summer recreation program, as well as working on after-school programs. Martinez has a full year remaining on his term.